April 4

The Friends
By Kazumi Yumoto (translated from the Japanese by Cathy Hirano)

I read this book while working as a young adult librarian in the 90s and found it touching and memorable.

The friends are three boys, Kiyama (narrator), Kawabe, and Yamashita.  The story is set in rural Japan, the summer the boys are in "cram school" preparing for their secondary school entrance exams.  Kiyama realizes he's suddenly growing taller, like a beanpole; he frequently refers to his mother's drinking problem.  Kawabe is the tough guy, but sensitive about the thick glasses he must wear and the father who left him years ago.  Yamashita is sensitive about his weight.

As the story opens, Kamashita has just returned from attending his grandmother's funeral.  The other boys ask about it and ponder what it means to die.  They are making the realization that all people die some day.  They determine to find out what happens when a person dies.  Kawabe knows of an old man who lives alone in an old bungalow near the bus stop.  The boys assume the old man will die soon, and determine to follow him so they can see when he dies.  The other boys reluctantly agree; they watch him through the windows of his house, they watch him when he walks to the store.  One day Yamashita brings a plate of sushi along to give to the old man.  Kawabe assumes he has poisoned the food to speed up the process and is surprised to learn that Yamashita just wants to give the man something good to eat.

The man eventually  realizes the boys are tailing him.  One day, as they're standing around his yard, he solicits their help in hanging his washing out to dry.  The next day he asks for help with his garbage.  Soon, they embark on an extensive weeding project. As a reward, the man invites them inside for watermelon.  The man begins to take better care of himself and his home.  One day a bad storm blows through the village, and all three boys flee to the man's home.  While they wait out the storm, the boys ask the old man about his experience in the war.  They hear of horrors and forced marches, in one village they are ordered to kill all the people.  He shoots a young woman.  As she falls down, the man realizes that she is with child. He is so horrified at his deed that he cannot return to his young wife, who assumes he has died a noble death in the war.

The boys go off to soccer camp.  A cemetery near the camp rekindles their interest in death.  Soon after their return, the old man dies.  They are sad to see his stiff body, but not scared and they realize he's moved on to a new stage - just as they have - as each leaves for a different school at the end of the summer.